Allas!" quod she, "for, by that god above,
Now han ye lost myn herte and al my love;
I can nat love a coward, by my feith.
For certes, what so any womman seith,
We alle desyren, if it might be,
To han housbondes hardy, wyse, and free,17
And secree, and no nigard, ne no fool,
Ne him that is agast of every tool, 18
Ne noon avauntour,19 by that god above!
How dorste ye seyn for shame unto your
love,

95

gage,

17

018

169 That they ne founde as muche as cotage, In which they bothe mighte y-logged be. Wherfor thay mosten, of necessitee, As for that night, departen compaignye; And ech of hem goth to his hostelrye, And took his logging as it wolde falle. 175 That oon of hem was logged in a stalle, Fer in a yerd, with oxen of the plough; That other man was logged wel y-nough, As was his aventure,19 or his fortune, That us governeth alle as in commune.20180

And so bifel, that, long er it were day, This man mette21 in his bed, ther-as he lay,

186

How that his felawe gan up-on him calle,
And seyde, 'allas! for in an oxes stalle
This night I shal be mordred ther22 I lye.
Now help me, dere brother, er I dye;
In alle haste com to me,' he sayde.
This man out of his sleep for fere abrayde;23
But whan that he was wakned of his sleep,
He turned him, and took of this no keep;24
Him thought his dreem nas but a vanitee.
Thus twyes in his sleping dremed he.
And atte thridde tyme yet his felawe
Cam, as him thoughte, and seide 'I am now
slawe:25

192

231

O blisful god, that art so Iust and trewe! Lo, how that thou biwreyest❞ mordre alway! Mordre wol out, that se we day by day. Mordre is so wlatsom6 and abhominable To god, that is so Iust and resonable, That he ne wol nat suffre it heled' be; Though it abyde a yeer, or two, or three, Mordre wol out, this my conclusioun. And right anoon, ministres of that toun Han hent the carter, and so sore him pyned,9

And eek the hostiler so sore engyned,10

235

240

4 on his back.

this is.

Iolif and glad they wente un-to hir reste,
And casten hem14 ful erly for to saille;
But to that 0015 man fel a greet mer-
vaille.

That oon of hem, in sleping as he lay,
Him mette a wonder dreem, agayn the
day;

Him thoughte a man stood by his beddes syde,

And him comaunded, that he sholde abyde,

260

And seyde him thus, if thou to-morwe wende,

Thou shalt be dreynt;16 my tale is at an

ende.'

He wook, and tolde his felawe what he mette,

And preyde him his viage for to lette;17 As for that day, he preyde him to abyde. His felawe, that lay by his beddes syde, 266 Gan for to laughe, and scorned him ful faste.

'No dreem,' quod he, 'may so myn herte agaste, 18

270

That I wol lette for to do my thinges.19
I sette not a straw by thy dreminges,
For swevenes been but vanitees and
Iapes. 20

Men dreme al-day of owles or of apes,
And eke of many a mase21 therwithal;
Men dreme of thing that nevere was ne
shal.

But sith22 I see that thou wolt heer abyde,
And thus for-sleuthen23 wilfully thy tyde,

285

But casuelly2 the shippes botme rente,
And ship and man under the water wente
In sighte of othere shippes it byside,
That with hem seyled at the same tyde.
And therfor, faire Pertelote so dere,
By swiche ensamples olde maistow3 lere1
That no man sholde been to recchelees5
Of dremes, for I sey thee, doutelees,
That many a dreem ful sore is for to drede.

Lo, in the lyf of seint Kenelm, I rede, 290 That was Kenulphus sone, the noble king Of Mercenrike, how Kenelm mette a thing;

A lyte er he was mordred, on a day,
His mordre in his avisioun he say.8
His norice him expouned every del

295

His sweven, and bad him for to kepe him wel

For10 traisoun; but he nas but seven yeer old,

And therfore litel tale11 hath he told12

Of any dreem, so holy was his herte.
By god, I hadde lever13 than my sherte 300
That ye had rad his legende, as have I.
Dame Pertelote, I sey yow trewely,
Macrobeus, that writ the avisioun
In Affrike of the worthy Cipioun,
Affermeth dremes, and seith that they
been

305

Lo Cresus, which that was of Lyde" king,
Mette he nat that he sat upon a tree,
Which signified he sholde anhanged be?320
Lo heer Andromacha, Ectores wyf,
That day that Ector sholde lese18 his lyf,
She dremed on the same night biforn,
How that the lyf of Ector sholde be lorn,'
If thilke day he wente in-to bataille; 325
She warned him, but it mighte nat availle;
He wente for to fighte nathelees,

But he was slayn anoon of Achilles.
But thilke tale is al to long to telle,

19

And eek it is ny20 day, I may nat dwelle. 330
Shortly I seye, as for conclusioun,
That I shal han of this avisioun
Adversitee; and I seye forther-more,
That I ne telle of laxatyves no store,21
For they ben venimous, I woot it wel;
I hem defye, I love hem never a del.22
Now let us speke of mirthe, and stinte23
al this;

335

26

Madame Pertelote, so have I blis, 24
Of o thing God hath sent me large grace;25
For whan I see the beautee of your face,340
Ye ben so scarlet-reed about your yën,'
It maketh al my drede for to dyen;
For, also siker27 as In principio,
Mulier est hominis confusio;
Madame, the sentence 28 of this Latin is-
Womman is mannes Ioye and al his blis;346

That I defye bothe sweven and dreem." And with that word he fley29 doun fro the beem,

For it was day, and eek his hennes alle; And with a chuk he gan hem for to calle, For he had founde a corn, lay in the yerd. Royal he was, he was namore aferd;

356

He loketh as it were a grim leoun;
And on his toos he rometh up and doun,360
Him deyned not to sette his foot to
grounde.

He chukketh, whan he hath a corn yfounde,

And to him rennen thanne his wyves

alle.

Thus royal, as a prince is in his halle,